NE area wheeling trip plans

That's... actually a solid idea.

Drive times for the trails being discussed:
MA Bell is 2 hr 15 min each way
OFR is 2 hr 45 min each way
3 Bears is 3 hr 55 min each way

OFR has been on the list for a while but never made it happen

@tacobell007 think it's doable for us? Know you said the gatekeeper is brutal but what about with expectations for winching and using all the armor

 

from New Haven, right?

Is a shade over 3 hours too much?

Chateguay.... @Brownmatthall

 

She can handle it. You just owe her a day

 

The 3 year old is old enough to come wheeling.

PS. I have no idea and am not a doctor

 

Stamford

True...

Haha, she technically is but this trip is just going to be too far/long of a day for her for a first time in the woods. I'd like to get her to the NJ spot sometime since it's close and mellow.

 

3:52 to Chateguay.
Nevermind @Brownmatthall

But that should be a trip to be planned. We found more of it this year. There also another trail we found that's Ma Bell level

 

Sorry, Must be out of the loop, what is OFR?

 

Old Florida Road

I think either way no matter what we do my truck is out of the loop other than RI and Chateguay, I would definitely not send it up Ma Bell knowing it's just going to be belly dragged up at least 3 things. I might consider dicking around the gatekeeper for fun but wouldn't go much beyond that. OFR is a no go, the gatekeeper is outside of what my truck can do

 

I agree, pretty good with not doing old Florida Rd.

 

OFR is doable but I guarantee both rock faces will take awhile. The rock gardens are/were good for 35s to 37s for the ground clearance. And the end could be a bit brutal, there's a drainage pipe you come down thats about 3ft ID, so its a bit sketchy. Steady driving with minimal stuck time took us about an hour and a half to do the trail. My first time was about 3 hours to do.

There are absolutely NO go arounds there though and the trail isn't very wide

 

Knowing what MA Bell is like with the extensive off-limits sections now, what's tougher? MA Bell or OFR?

 

I stand by MA Bell in either case. We've been to Warner every year multiple times a year and I
A) haven't been to MA Bell in well over a year and I half at this point and
B) haven't hit all the hard stuff there yet.
It being half the drive time is just icing and the hangar is there too... if it's too short of a day maybe we can tack on October mountain or something relatively close?

 

I'd actually be really down for chat top to bottom....
Edit: bottom to top, definitely not top to bottom

 

Bottom to top you numpty.

No, top to bottom would be fine but it's just a lot of gravity smash bang. I think it would depend on the weather. If it's raining, the river will be wet, so hard to get purchase. If it's not raining, it's a river, so it'll still be wet and hard to get purchase.

At the top you could come out to the general store OR loop back around to long trail right there

 

Personally with my truck, I struggle more at OFR than MA Bell. OFR rock gardens will scrub frame on 35s and 37s. I jacked up my spare tire carrier there as well. Its fun but its not for the faint hearted. Id say I also know the lines a lot better at MA Bell, haven't been since the go arounds got closed but I think the way I went up normally would be in bounds still

 

That sounds like a good plan to me. I know October Mtn very well, or at least I did... ridden ATVs there at least 50 times. There's also Pittsfield State Forest which depending on if the gates are open or not has a cool overlook up a dirt road we could try to explore.

So maybe we need a full early day to do OFR without feeling pressured on time

 

All this talk of 35's and 37's and I'm on 31's.

 

Ben and I were the only ones on 33's in VT. The rest were 35's and 37's. Everyone got stuck equally

 

Your wheelbase is a huge advantage on the trail

 

So let's tentatively say we're doing MA Bell, anyone opposed to Sunday 7/13 vs Sat 7/12? Just trying to keep options open